Caste shift in Indian politics: Census, reservations, focus on OBCs

The BJP made the OBCs as politically visible and influential as the Mandal offspring, if not more

One of the discernible challenges facing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha (LS) election is the ‘rebirth of Mandal politics’ or ‘Mandal 2.0’, as commentators describe the resurgence of the stormy late 1980s and early 1990s when the empowerment of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) overshadowed North India’s politics.

The challenge has shape-shifted from the demand for reservation in education and jobs to the clamour for a national caste census, which would provide an exact figure on the OBC population in all sub-groupings.

Notably, the Opposition, particularly the Congress, has spearheaded this phase